We're Back Chapter 11
A/N: I don't know if any of you noticed, but the names of the couple that got Dallas are Bill and Jill. Bill and Jill! BILL AND JILL. What have I done?!
P.S. I know in my past fic, S.E. Hinton's gang was kinda out of character at times (mainly Dally). I'm going to try better this time.
P.S. A lot of this is pointless. I don't know why it's there.
~
When Eleanor opened her eyes the first thing she saw was smoke. Then, with a sudden popping sound, that certain familiar someone appeared.
"Oh, hello stupid," he greeted her.
"Hello Dallas," she said wearily. She studied Dally's face, her mind travelling back to the weird thought she'd had in the hospital. Where did that cute, sweet, little boy go? She wondered. Out loud she said "What do you want this time."
The young hooligan pulled a lit cigarette out from nowhere and took a long drag off of it. He breathed out, letting loose a cloud of the unsavory stench of tobacco in Eleanor's direction. "I think you know the answer to that question, girlie."
Eleanor wrinkled her nose and waved at the air around her. "Well, now I know why this place is filled with smoke," she muttered.
Dallas scowled. "Shut up."
Eleanor had had it up to here with the stupid blond. Striding over to the boy, she yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and crushed it with one hand. "They're bad for you," she snapped. "And my name is ELEANOR. NOT 'girlie'. And for you information, I DON'T know what you want, so you'd better tell me or I'll-"
"Cram it girlie," Dallas replied in a bored tone, pulling another cigarette out of the air.
Eleanor crushed this one just as easily. Then she shoved herself up an inch away from his face. "You call me girlie again," she hissed, her voice low and as dangerous as Dally's had ever been. "And I swear I'll kiss Tim. Right on the lips. IN FRONT OF TWO-BIT." THAT made him jump.
Then she backed off quickly. He didn't smell so good. But Eleanor had made her point. Dally's eyes were slightly wider than they had been a moment before, and he clutched his forgotten cigarette in one hand. Even more astounding, he was quiet.
Eleanor crossed her arms, strangely uncomfortable with the silent Dally. It made her feel like he was plotting. "You still haven't told me what you want," she reminded.
Dally shrugged, and, looking slightly apprehensive said: "Well, I just wanted to know what was going on. You know, with alive people."
"Well, I'm not telling you until you're nice," Eleanor replied sulkily.
"I AM being nice!"
"No, you aren't!"
"Yes-"
"I can see where this is going."
"Yeah, so can I."
"Let's stop it then."
"The first good idea you've had."
"Shut up."
"Aha!" Dallas cried, suddenly jubilant. "NOW who's being mean?"
Eleanor glared. "That wasn't the point. You're still not being nice."
The blond exhaled noisily. "Fine. How was your day?" he asked, very obviously sarcastic
Eleanor cocked her head to the side. "Well," she said slowly, enjoying watching Dallas squirm with impatience. "It…was a little…weird. And…slow-"
"I get it," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Why was it a weird day." He said this very loudly, as if it was very hard for him to say. Which it was.
"I had this strange thought…well it felt like a memory," Eleanor admitted. "It was of you, and you were really young, at an orphanage-"
"I know," he said rudely. "You stole it from me for a while. It's one of my only good memories you know! And being in a place like this," he spread his arms wide, sending puffs of smoke in every direction, "all I got are my thoughts with me."
"So you noticed huh?" Eleanor said sheepishly.
"Damn straight!"
Eleanor chose to ignore his indignant-ness. "You used to be so cute and sweet. What happened?"
Dally stared at her. "You thought I was cute and sweet?" he asked, completely oblivious to the intended insult.
Eleanor sighed. "Yes. But only then."
Dally paused, then his eyes narrowed. "Oh very funny. Bet you think I'm just being a stupid brat now huh? Yeah, well did those people who adopted me look nice? Cause lemme tell you something, it wasn't no picnic having them for parents."
Eleanor was taken aback. "I-"
"Oh shut up. You already figured it out about me. I'm rude and stupid and a brat and I deserved everything I got huh? Well, maybe I did and maybe I didn't but you ain't got no right to judge me, seeing as you don't even know a goddamn thing about my life." Dallas folded his arms across his chest and exhaled slowly.
Eleanor was wide-eyed. "That was long coming wasn't it?"
Dallas shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, well, all greasers have those speeches. Ask even the stupidest one and he'll tell you all about the injustices of life."
Eleanor cocked her head to the side. "You aren't that stupid. Actually," she admitted, "you don't seem really stupid at all. So far, aside from being rude, you're almost smart."
Dally stared at her as if seeing her for the first time and shook his head slowly. "You…think…smart? …me… and you…Uh oh."
Eleanor frowned. "What do you mean 'uh oh'?"
Dally didn't answer. He didn't even look at her. He just went on shaking his head and saying "uh oh", and pacing back and forth in the clouds of smoke.
A feeling of lightheadedness came over Eleanor, and she decided she didn't give a hang about Dallas.
"Catch you later, I gotta go," she called to him, her voice getting fainter.
He turned and stared at her fading form with a look of absolute panic. "Already? You can't go! You didn't tell me anything! I was nice damnit!"
Eleanor shrugged her disappearing shoulders. "That's life buddy…or, um, death, whatever." She felt herself begin to float.
But Dallas wasn't about to let her go so easily. "No!" he yelped, and launched himself at her, just missing Eleanor as she floated quickly away from dreamland.
~
"Hey, Curtis! You repairing my roof or sleeping on it?"
Darry jerked to life in an instant. 10 in the morning and he still wasn't fully awake. "I'm on it Mr. James," he called down, reaching for the bundle of roofing he'd brought up ten minutes ago.
He was so tired he could barely remember how to do the job he'd been doing for nearly 2 years. He hefted the bundle shakily in one hand. He knew he shouldn't, he knew he should be careful, but he was just so tired…
He was brought rudely back to reality with a giant THUD, as the heavy bundle of roofing fell right on his finger.
"GODDAMN!" he shrieked, very un-Darry-like. He jerked his hand away from the roofing, in the process, tipping to bundle off balance. He saw, as if in slow motion, the package balanced precariously on the edge of the roof and then…
"No!" he yelped, making a dive for the precious parcel. He slid past it, watching in dismay as the pack fell downward, before he smacked headfirst into the ladder.
Darry staggered back, nearly blinded, dizzy and seeing stars. He came to just in time to see his only way of getting off the roof fall straight away from its perch against the house.
"SHIT!" Darry yelled in pure frustration, stamping his foot. "How the fucking hell am I supposed to get down now?!"
And then he heard it.
A low creaking noise, that made his heart lurch in fear. Creak. Creak. Darry bent his knees, ready to leap across the rooftop, and then at that moment, with a mighty FLOP he was being dragged in a cascading waterfall of plaster and splintered wood beams.
He came up spitting and gasping, chalk white, covered in plaster dust, and bits of wood, lying under a pile of crap in the center of the James' kitchen.
'So that's how I get down,' he thought dizzily, before the angered shouts of a very red-faced Mr. James cut through his mind.
~
When Soda first saw him, he thought Darry must have fallen into some sort of prank. Maybe Two-Bit dumped a bag of flour on him. Or white paint. This was not so.
"I'm…so sorry, Mr. James," Soda stammered, trying his darndest to keep from bursting out laughing. "We'll pay for the damage, really." Sodapop stared at his shoe, carefully avoiding looking at his plastered brother.
Mr. James scowled. "See that you do," he said curtly. He looked over at Darry, who was miserably trying not to get any dust on his freshly cleaned kitchen floor. Mr. James shook his head. "If you didn't look so funny, I'd have fired you on the spot," he declared, and marched out.
It took one look at Darry and Soda was rolling on the floor laughing his ass off. "My god, Darry," he gasped, "you look – you look – you look-"
"Fantastic!" Two-Bit exclaimed, peeking in through the door.
"Shut up," Darry mumbled, "I do not."
Two-Bit paused, scratching his head. "Well, come to think of it, you don't look so well. You're looking a bit, er, PALE!" And he too joined Sodapop on the floor.
Darry watched them, too tired to even glare. "Listen," he said wearily. "I have to clean up, the Social Services lady is coming today. I gotta make dinner…where's Pony? Oh shit WHERE-"
"I'm here Darry," Ponyboy said quietly, emerging from the bathroom. His hair was shining wet, and his face was freshly scrubbed. "Squeaky clean," he said proudly. "Your turn Soda."
Sodapop shook his head. "Nah, Darry needs it more." A soft TING rang through the air.
"Ooh, chicken's done!" Soda squealed, prancing over to the oven.
Darry stared. "You made chicken?"
Ponyboy shrugged. "You weren't here. We made chicken, and potatoes. And broccoli, don't worry," he added hastily.
"And cake," Soda called out.
"And I brought y'all a tablecloth from my Ma's diner. She, uh, let me borrow one," Two-Bit said, looking away carefully.
Darry almost cried with relief. "I'm…I'm going to take a shower," he managed, and staggered off to the bathroom. He'd really have to learn to trust his brothers more.
A/N: I don't know if any of you noticed, but the names of the couple that got Dallas are Bill and Jill. Bill and Jill! BILL AND JILL. What have I done?!
P.S. I know in my past fic, S.E. Hinton's gang was kinda out of character at times (mainly Dally). I'm going to try better this time.
P.S. A lot of this is pointless. I don't know why it's there.
~
When Eleanor opened her eyes the first thing she saw was smoke. Then, with a sudden popping sound, that certain familiar someone appeared.
"Oh, hello stupid," he greeted her.
"Hello Dallas," she said wearily. She studied Dally's face, her mind travelling back to the weird thought she'd had in the hospital. Where did that cute, sweet, little boy go? She wondered. Out loud she said "What do you want this time."
The young hooligan pulled a lit cigarette out from nowhere and took a long drag off of it. He breathed out, letting loose a cloud of the unsavory stench of tobacco in Eleanor's direction. "I think you know the answer to that question, girlie."
Eleanor wrinkled her nose and waved at the air around her. "Well, now I know why this place is filled with smoke," she muttered.
Dallas scowled. "Shut up."
Eleanor had had it up to here with the stupid blond. Striding over to the boy, she yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and crushed it with one hand. "They're bad for you," she snapped. "And my name is ELEANOR. NOT 'girlie'. And for you information, I DON'T know what you want, so you'd better tell me or I'll-"
"Cram it girlie," Dallas replied in a bored tone, pulling another cigarette out of the air.
Eleanor crushed this one just as easily. Then she shoved herself up an inch away from his face. "You call me girlie again," she hissed, her voice low and as dangerous as Dally's had ever been. "And I swear I'll kiss Tim. Right on the lips. IN FRONT OF TWO-BIT." THAT made him jump.
Then she backed off quickly. He didn't smell so good. But Eleanor had made her point. Dally's eyes were slightly wider than they had been a moment before, and he clutched his forgotten cigarette in one hand. Even more astounding, he was quiet.
Eleanor crossed her arms, strangely uncomfortable with the silent Dally. It made her feel like he was plotting. "You still haven't told me what you want," she reminded.
Dally shrugged, and, looking slightly apprehensive said: "Well, I just wanted to know what was going on. You know, with alive people."
"Well, I'm not telling you until you're nice," Eleanor replied sulkily.
"I AM being nice!"
"No, you aren't!"
"Yes-"
"I can see where this is going."
"Yeah, so can I."
"Let's stop it then."
"The first good idea you've had."
"Shut up."
"Aha!" Dallas cried, suddenly jubilant. "NOW who's being mean?"
Eleanor glared. "That wasn't the point. You're still not being nice."
The blond exhaled noisily. "Fine. How was your day?" he asked, very obviously sarcastic
Eleanor cocked her head to the side. "Well," she said slowly, enjoying watching Dallas squirm with impatience. "It…was a little…weird. And…slow-"
"I get it," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Why was it a weird day." He said this very loudly, as if it was very hard for him to say. Which it was.
"I had this strange thought…well it felt like a memory," Eleanor admitted. "It was of you, and you were really young, at an orphanage-"
"I know," he said rudely. "You stole it from me for a while. It's one of my only good memories you know! And being in a place like this," he spread his arms wide, sending puffs of smoke in every direction, "all I got are my thoughts with me."
"So you noticed huh?" Eleanor said sheepishly.
"Damn straight!"
Eleanor chose to ignore his indignant-ness. "You used to be so cute and sweet. What happened?"
Dally stared at her. "You thought I was cute and sweet?" he asked, completely oblivious to the intended insult.
Eleanor sighed. "Yes. But only then."
Dally paused, then his eyes narrowed. "Oh very funny. Bet you think I'm just being a stupid brat now huh? Yeah, well did those people who adopted me look nice? Cause lemme tell you something, it wasn't no picnic having them for parents."
Eleanor was taken aback. "I-"
"Oh shut up. You already figured it out about me. I'm rude and stupid and a brat and I deserved everything I got huh? Well, maybe I did and maybe I didn't but you ain't got no right to judge me, seeing as you don't even know a goddamn thing about my life." Dallas folded his arms across his chest and exhaled slowly.
Eleanor was wide-eyed. "That was long coming wasn't it?"
Dallas shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, well, all greasers have those speeches. Ask even the stupidest one and he'll tell you all about the injustices of life."
Eleanor cocked her head to the side. "You aren't that stupid. Actually," she admitted, "you don't seem really stupid at all. So far, aside from being rude, you're almost smart."
Dally stared at her as if seeing her for the first time and shook his head slowly. "You…think…smart? …me… and you…Uh oh."
Eleanor frowned. "What do you mean 'uh oh'?"
Dally didn't answer. He didn't even look at her. He just went on shaking his head and saying "uh oh", and pacing back and forth in the clouds of smoke.
A feeling of lightheadedness came over Eleanor, and she decided she didn't give a hang about Dallas.
"Catch you later, I gotta go," she called to him, her voice getting fainter.
He turned and stared at her fading form with a look of absolute panic. "Already? You can't go! You didn't tell me anything! I was nice damnit!"
Eleanor shrugged her disappearing shoulders. "That's life buddy…or, um, death, whatever." She felt herself begin to float.
But Dallas wasn't about to let her go so easily. "No!" he yelped, and launched himself at her, just missing Eleanor as she floated quickly away from dreamland.
~
"Hey, Curtis! You repairing my roof or sleeping on it?"
Darry jerked to life in an instant. 10 in the morning and he still wasn't fully awake. "I'm on it Mr. James," he called down, reaching for the bundle of roofing he'd brought up ten minutes ago.
He was so tired he could barely remember how to do the job he'd been doing for nearly 2 years. He hefted the bundle shakily in one hand. He knew he shouldn't, he knew he should be careful, but he was just so tired…
He was brought rudely back to reality with a giant THUD, as the heavy bundle of roofing fell right on his finger.
"GODDAMN!" he shrieked, very un-Darry-like. He jerked his hand away from the roofing, in the process, tipping to bundle off balance. He saw, as if in slow motion, the package balanced precariously on the edge of the roof and then…
"No!" he yelped, making a dive for the precious parcel. He slid past it, watching in dismay as the pack fell downward, before he smacked headfirst into the ladder.
Darry staggered back, nearly blinded, dizzy and seeing stars. He came to just in time to see his only way of getting off the roof fall straight away from its perch against the house.
"SHIT!" Darry yelled in pure frustration, stamping his foot. "How the fucking hell am I supposed to get down now?!"
And then he heard it.
A low creaking noise, that made his heart lurch in fear. Creak. Creak. Darry bent his knees, ready to leap across the rooftop, and then at that moment, with a mighty FLOP he was being dragged in a cascading waterfall of plaster and splintered wood beams.
He came up spitting and gasping, chalk white, covered in plaster dust, and bits of wood, lying under a pile of crap in the center of the James' kitchen.
'So that's how I get down,' he thought dizzily, before the angered shouts of a very red-faced Mr. James cut through his mind.
~
When Soda first saw him, he thought Darry must have fallen into some sort of prank. Maybe Two-Bit dumped a bag of flour on him. Or white paint. This was not so.
"I'm…so sorry, Mr. James," Soda stammered, trying his darndest to keep from bursting out laughing. "We'll pay for the damage, really." Sodapop stared at his shoe, carefully avoiding looking at his plastered brother.
Mr. James scowled. "See that you do," he said curtly. He looked over at Darry, who was miserably trying not to get any dust on his freshly cleaned kitchen floor. Mr. James shook his head. "If you didn't look so funny, I'd have fired you on the spot," he declared, and marched out.
It took one look at Darry and Soda was rolling on the floor laughing his ass off. "My god, Darry," he gasped, "you look – you look – you look-"
"Fantastic!" Two-Bit exclaimed, peeking in through the door.
"Shut up," Darry mumbled, "I do not."
Two-Bit paused, scratching his head. "Well, come to think of it, you don't look so well. You're looking a bit, er, PALE!" And he too joined Sodapop on the floor.
Darry watched them, too tired to even glare. "Listen," he said wearily. "I have to clean up, the Social Services lady is coming today. I gotta make dinner…where's Pony? Oh shit WHERE-"
"I'm here Darry," Ponyboy said quietly, emerging from the bathroom. His hair was shining wet, and his face was freshly scrubbed. "Squeaky clean," he said proudly. "Your turn Soda."
Sodapop shook his head. "Nah, Darry needs it more." A soft TING rang through the air.
"Ooh, chicken's done!" Soda squealed, prancing over to the oven.
Darry stared. "You made chicken?"
Ponyboy shrugged. "You weren't here. We made chicken, and potatoes. And broccoli, don't worry," he added hastily.
"And cake," Soda called out.
"And I brought y'all a tablecloth from my Ma's diner. She, uh, let me borrow one," Two-Bit said, looking away carefully.
Darry almost cried with relief. "I'm…I'm going to take a shower," he managed, and staggered off to the bathroom. He'd really have to learn to trust his brothers more.